Use these sources to narrow down your topic, or to select a topic that is likely to have a reasonably accessible source base.

The entries in these encyclopedias all include bibliographies. The entries in the bibliographies have been selected by experts.

Remember that encyclopedia entries are not historiographies. Although encyclopedias attempt to summarize, broadly, the current state of knowledge in a specific field of inquiry, they do not attempt to represent the different critical, methodological, or theoretical approaches to those topics.

Finding Primary Sources

There is no one place to search for primary sources, since almost any document can be a primary source (even those you discover while searching for secondary sources). A primary source is a primary source if you use it as one, as your instructor has probably explained already.

A good place to look for primary sources that are available online (most of these have been digitized from print originals) is:

Another strategy for finding primary sources is to go back to your secondary sources and see what sources, or what kinds of sources, the scholars who have already worked on this topic used.

Some publishers compile primary source documents and publish them as books, book sets, or microfilm sets. To find these publications, watch for the following subject heading sub-divisions when browsing subject headings in the Online Catalog: